This month, Farm Stay U.S. is proud to feature Splendor Farms, a B&B,
trail-riding
facility, and licensed
Dachshund kennel in Bush, Louisiana, one hour outside of New
Orleans. We recently interviewed owner Kelly Bensabat and are
excited to share her story. For more details and to plan a stay,
check out the Farm Stay
U.S. Splendor Farms listing. Thanks to Carl Bordelon Photography
for the use of the photos below.
1. Could you tell us about the history of your
farm?
Through hard work and faith in my dreams, Splendor
Farms evolved from a family home with a horse into the bed and breakfast and trail
riding facility we have today. My husband, an attorney, and I,
an insurance defense paralegal for over 20 years, moved here in
1988 and raised our two children here, but they didn't really live
a farm life then other than a garden and woods to play in. About 12
years ago, I decided to breed my mare and build a barn for her.
When the kids left for college, I bought my first dachshund, then
another, and another, and then started showing and breeding. I was
tiring of the legal world and decided I wanted to show my dogs full
time, give riding lessons, and board horses.
Then Hurricane Katrina came and with all the misery it
brought, including my husband's heart surgery three weeks after the
hurricane. I decided life was too short -- the kids had graduated
from college by then and I had three empty rooms, so I decided to
open a bed and breakfast, but not the usual kind with antiques and
wine/cheese at check in. I wanted to be pet and kid friendly,
offering a farm environment with fishing and swimming, and the best
part, trail rides! Today we have a bed and
breakfast, trail riding
on over 1000 acres, and a licensed
dachshund kennel.
I am in my 5th year of summer
horse/farm camps and now do middle of the month camps as well;
for those monthly camps I work with the parents so the camps
are an incentive to make good grades; I only let girls attend if
they are making As and Bs in school, which has helped some girls
who were struggling academically to turn around their
grades. The summer
camps host 8-10 campers at a time; the campers get to do lots
of riding, learn to cook, do chores, pick veggies, fish, and
compete in a rodeo on Fridays.
My next endeavor will be to build a couple of small
one-room camps, with baths and full kitchens, on the 2.5 acres
across from our home overlooking the creek. These will be
rented out for weekend stays, with day passes for trail rides,
fishing, and swimming available for the guests. They will be so
private that they will also be great "get away from it all"
destinations!
2. Could you tell us about your
animals?
I have at any time as many as 35 to 45 head of trail
horses, boarding horses, rescued
thoroughbreds, andI still
have my old barrel mare, Star. She is 26 now and still
gets excited when she hears a gate clank, like in the arena.
We have several barn cats, so no mice! We have a couple of stocked
ponds for the guest to fish, on a catch & release basis. We
have chickens for eggs, guineas, pheasants, & turkeys for
gumbos, and a pot-bellied pig, along with milk goats and sheep. If
I could get my nannies to have girls instead of boys, we could make
goat cheese.
3. Why did you choose to breed and raise
dachshunds?
Dachshunds
(long haired) are gorgeous dogs, very smart and funny. They are
small for your lap, but big with loyalty. I love all hounds, but
Dachshunds' different shape and almost-shaped eyes are too hard to
resist. The first time I saw a Dachshund, I was in a stationary
store, and when I took a seat, the red pillow next to me moved and
I jumped! I looked down and saw these gorgeous brown eyes and long
flowing red coat. I didn't even know what kind of dog it was until
the owner told me. Then, a week later, I was at
Louisiana Paralegal Seminar in New
Orleans, and during a break I was walking through the
hotel lobby and a lady came off the elevator with two long haired
black & tans on a double leash. Their gait was just
breathtaking for such short legs, and I was hooked. I rescue many
dachshunds from animal shelters and breeders. Sometimes they simply
show up in my neighborhood!
4. Do you have a favorite vegetable or fruit,
either to grow or to eat?
Strawberries and tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, hands
down! We are lucky in Louisiana to be able to grow both in several
plantings almost year around. A greenhouse has been a great
addition to my food supply. We can start our tomato seeds in
December and plant in pots in February and in the ground in early
April, for early spring tomatoes in May. Strawberries are
wonderful, too. Two plantings a year, and they have more vitamin C
than oranges, plus they freeze outstandingly well.
5. What is the setting of your farm
like?
Our farm is pastoral, with woods to explore and lots of
animals to visit. Our farm is prettier to most guests in the spring
and summer when the plants and flowers are out, but fall is my
favorite time! We may not have the foliage changes like up in the
northeast, but to me Louisiana is beautiful in the fall. It
could also be that after our hot summers, we are charmed by the
cooler weather.
Our pool area is very nice and can feel very private, as
it's surrounded by hibiscus, but you can be floating in the pool
and look out and see beautiful horses grazing 100 feet away. We
have herb gardens and raised beds with seasonal veggies to
admire and when we have an abundant crop, we are more than happy to
let you pick some to take home with you.
6. What do most of your guests do during their
stay?
They walk around the farm, get to know the petting zoo
animals, pick veggies in high season, take a hike on the horse
trails through the 45 acres, trail ride after breakfast, read a
book on the patio, swim, fish the stocked ponds, or take a nap in a
hammock (my favorite when I have time!) They also get to
choose what they are going to have for breakfast the next
morning. Every guest gets a menu with four to five items to
choose from. No generic breakfast casserole is served in my dining
room!
7. Your B&B includes three guest bedrooms - "The
Queens' Suite," "La Louisiane," and "Ponderosa." You also offer a
furnished guest apartment with six bunk beds. Could you tell us
about the décor and your decorating philosophy?
I wanted each bedroom to be different. The Queens' Suite is called
that because two 
people both think it's their room -- my mother and my best friend.
La Louisiane was the
name of my favorite restaurant in the French quarter. Lots of
French people come to visit us, and they love staying in that room.
It's decorated in purple, green, and gold, and full of Louisiana
literature and history. Ponderosa features wooden
beams, and knotted pine paneled walls, and it opens on screen
porch. It is our most rustic room, with a Texas Cowboys and Indians
theme since I'm from Texas. The Bunkhouse is our
family accommodation; it sleeps up to 10, with bunk beds, and a
pullout bed.
My decorating philosophy is really about comfort. I use
1000+ thread count sheets, down comforters, and thick towels. We
iron all the sheets. It's luxurious even though you're on a farm.
We also offer flat-screen TVs, DVD players and board games. There's
so much to do here!
8. Anything more you'd like to add?
I am very blessed to be living my dream -- being in
the country, surrounded by animals, cooking for people, decorating
for the seasons, and having a very wonderful husband and children
who support my dream and like my mother-in-law told me, "You have
vision! I am so proud of you!" I am proud of me, too,
and of Splendor
Farms!----